Good Evening, Good News, January 28, 2013

Ok ....  are YOU with me this week ???

Are YOU on my team ???

Will YOU help me win the weekly contest at the Animal Rescue Site ???

It's real easy .... go here http://animalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3 and enter Rikkis Refuge in VA in the USA and follow the directions ...

it's easy, no information collection, no spam .... just your vote ---

help me get the mostest votes this week ... just this week ... vote daily thru Sunday and YOU can help me win $1,000 to feed my furry friends at Rikki's Refuge.  There are 1925 of us ....  well a couple hundred of them have feathers ... but we feed them too.  Vote every day from every computer you have, home, office, phone and so on !!!! 

Let’s work together real hard this week and win the weekly $1,000 prize !!!

SUPER GOOD NEWS !!!

Great Grand Pa is doing good in Florida .... and he’s really liking the weather and real happy he gotted home before all this snow be on the ground.  I think I kind a wish I could be there with him and Bowtie too ..... but mom says I have to stay here in Virginia at Rikki’s Refuge and help take care of all the aminals.

GGP had a bad lump in his bladder and he had to go to the hospital today and have a nice doctor take it out.  They thought he’d have to stay in the hospital overnight ... but uh ah he didn’t !!!  He woke up quick and was feeling good and he was home by 4 pm !! 

He called me to remind me to eat my 4 pm snack and he sounded real good, just like himself and said he felt pretty good too ... just a little tired.

Happy Birthday Mariza !!!!!

Thank you for so many years of service to all the critters and all your help over the years!!!  Mariza well remembers the "old days" and how far Rikki's has come.  She’s been volunteering tirelessly for the animals for over 13 years .....  read all about the different things she’s done over the years

http://rikkisrefuge.blogspot.com/2013/01/meet-mariza-soliman-january-28-2013.html

Sweetheart Walk and Mingle

Is your best friend nothin’ but a hound dog ?

Well at Rikki’s Refuge we LOVE Hound Dogs !

We invite you to a Valentine event

especially for you and your best friend

.... your dog ... or your human !

You’ll have the opportunity to walk around our new 63 acre facility with your best friend.

Meet and Mingle with other Dog Lovers.

Roam the wooded areas, see the barns and outbuildings, run thru the pastures ...

lots of fun for you and your four or two footed friend ...

all before our animals move in.

Learn about Rikki’s Refuge and find out about

future volunteer opportunities,

fence fixin’, mural painting, barn mucking, and more !

Sunday, February 10^th, from 1 - 3 pm,

admission is $12.50 or a case of cat food (per couple, same or mixed species)

... you heard me right ... today is going to the dogs ...

but we’ve got to feed the cats too !!

Tickets MUST be bought in advance and the number is LIMITED.

So call 540-854-0870 x3 or email mail@RikkisRefuge.org

for your tickets TODAY ... don’t delay !

Doggies must be leashed at all times and

accompanied by an owner 18 or older,

must be dog and human friendly and

must bring proof of vaccinations, including rabies.

A VISIT TO RIKKI’S REFUGE

and

HLUHLUWE IMFOLOZI

Mom’s all grown up boy, James, who’s been sailing of GGP’s boat came to visit.  He really wanted to play with all the animals and take lots of pictures.  And that was the week it rained and it rained and it rained ... and it was cold ... not freezing really ... but sure felt like it.  So on his last day .. Jan 15^th .. he decided to brave the cold wet and visit the animals.

Lots of our animals don’t mind the icky cold.  But he didn’t see many kitties!  Most of us were hiding away in our warm condos. 

Pictures from Uncle James' visit ---- this be Evil, his kitty, he's staying at GGP's place here while James is traveling on the boat.

The last stop, before coming to Rikki’s Refuge was Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve in South Africa where their kitties is a bit bigger than our kitties ....

Welcome to Rikki's ......

Hmmmm maybe we should add a more interactive entrance monument ....

GGM (great grandma) and Rikki (her kitty) are here --- Vincent is near by.

While getting up close and personal with some critters, like this crocodile, James contemplated when he might be moving in with GGM, Rikki and Vincent .....

bahhhhhhhdddd goats

Seem to be a universal thing ... with horned animals

Calvin the mooo cow

Sure looks friendlier than this fellow!

See Calvin's thick curly winter coat? Remember how sleek he was in the summer? Did you know cows grow longer fur in the winter to keep warm too!

These guys don’t seem to have the need to grow winter coats!

Candy the horsey !!!!

Zebuliah the Zebra !!!!

Candy ... no matter what the weather .... this was the cold rainy days right before the snow ... the big animals like to go out for fresh grass ...

This is Phil Pheasant. He was born wild. His mom had her nest in some bushes in Chicken City. She brought the young to eat with some baby chicks we had at the time. When the pheasant family grew up mom and the teens left for the woods. Phil stayed ... and fell in love with Randolph Rooster. Randolph didn't think it was so funny. When Phil would jump on him in a very "friendly" way, he'd beat Phil up ... and Randolph was lots bigger and Phil would get hurt. After three times in the hospital for injured legs, and Phil still wanted Randolph to be his buddy ..... Phil moved to Rabbit Rotunda for his protection.

This eagle was born free a continent away.

The guineas and other residents of Rabbit Rotunda.

The warthog residents of Hluhluwe Imfolozi.

Ducks ... on a wet wet day ... just the way they like it !!!

The young Warthogs like it wet too....

Cat run furniture --- the kitties don't like the wet weather so much, so they're mostly inside. Got kids outdoor play toys they've outgrown ??? Think about giving them to Rikki's for the kitties or a sanctuary or rescue local to you.

LOOK ... what’s that ?

Feline Fields !!

Feline Tree !!

Loving the wet weather

Loving the dry weather

Cat house number 1 -- not many coming out in the rain to visit !!

Wonder how many of these ....

We love our murals !!!! Thank you Rene Luther ..... lots more "canvas" just waiting .... can you paint pretty pictures ?? Have you ever tried ??? Give it a shot and then think about doing one at Rikki's !!!

... it’d take to keep one cat house clean ....

Honk honk honk ....

Scamper scamper scamper  ....

Looks like Patrick and Preston had more produce then even these two big pigs could eat .... and enough wallowing in the mud ... now nappy time .....

Bet it takes a lot to fill these guys up too.....

Jack, Peepers and Phoebe

Who’s watching who ?

Jack took a shine to James .... he's saying "come on in here cutie pie"

Everything in Africa is bigger ...

Sally and Mike

No matter where they are ... they check out roads and cars ...

Woof Woof Woof ... if we come out of our warm houses to see you ... do we get doggy treats?

Hmmmm wonder if radio tracking would be easier than keeping up with fence repair ?

 

Doggy Downs, Club House #1 with it's new roof !!! Opps old roof and mess didn't get cleaned up .... one more thing on the to-do list ... Rene Luther I think we're needing some touch up paint !!!

Moving thru the brush, these guys don’t worry about a permanent home.

Beauty and Kiki who love the snow, the rain, the mud ... if it's icky ... they wanna be out playing in it !!!!

Chomping on leaves ... rain or shine ...

Peacocks hiding from the rain under a trailer .... lots nummy bugs crawl out the ground when it rains .... with all the free ranging birds it's amazing we could have a single bug left anywhere !!!

Beautiful Blue Starling

These vultures and 4,876 of their best friends live WAY up on the water tower right by the dump ... it's not our own dump, but the county landfill where we take lots and lots of "ick" every day .... guess them vultures find nums there ..... yuck ...

Mr. Buzzard, Hluhluwe Imfolozi, South Africa

Love you bunches,

           Opie

ps: remember 2013 is the year of the purr ....

Click Vincent to hear him purr ......